Hi, I have been trying all day since 7:30am trying to knit my mother in law a simple scarf. I have COMBED the internet and tried and re-tried varies patterns and they come out just looking crazy. I just rip it out and start over or just cut it off and throw it away out of sheer frustration.

The instructions are easy but HARD. When I have to repeat the stitches within the *'s I find myself getting lost and confused because I'm trying to keep track in my head.

I want her to come by tomorrow with a gorgeous scarf and I just cant do it. Any tips on how to follow patterns and perhaps a good site with easy but pretty patterns?

Have you looked at knittingpatterncentral.com? There are a ton of great patterns on there for all sorts of things for all different levels.

You might find it easier if you can print off whichever pattern you're using and keep a pen and pad handy for keeping track of where you are.

If you're doing repeats of a pattern across a row you might find it helpful to have some kind of marker for each repeat - a strand of yarn a different colour to your main colour makes a perfect marker.

The right side is the outside, and the wrong side is the inside. Often the right side is the side where you knit (the stitches look like "V"s) and the wrong side is the side where you purl (the stitches look like little bumps). Depending on the pattern, the right and wrong side can be more obvious than at other times.

A couple of questions--What kind of yarn are you using and what size needles?How much experience do you have? (It might help in steering you towards an appropriate pattern.)

I am an extremely experienced knitter and often realize that I am baffled by some of the "newbie" questions on patterns on this site-- I mean I am just a confused as they are! But the difference is that if I see the photo from the pattern or book, I know what is supposed to be going on so I can figure out the directions. . .such as your question at to which are the wrong and right sides. The more you do, it becomes SO much easier!

Maybe you should try a simple garter stitch scarf where you knit every row. My first scarf was a knit 2, purl 2 rib, which was very easy, but looks really great. Just so you know, it may be a little difficult to finish a scarf for tomorrow. Depending on the yarn and needles you're using, it could take you a while. Maybe you should aim to finish it for Christmas as a gift?

and what is "wrong side" and "right side" knitting??? This is driving me nuts! How do I know which side is which?

If the right side and wrong side are identical, I put a small safety pin on the right side, down towards my cast on row, so I'll know. If they aren't identical, you can look at it and tell.

Keeping up with a stitch pattern was hard at first. I usually print out the instructions with a couple of spaces between each row and move a piece of paper down the page as I complete each row.

And if it's a more complicated stitch pattern that I can't memorize, I make sure each row is written out. Some stitch patterns will say, for example, "as row 2" or maybe "purl all even rows" or something similar, so I make sure I have it written out instead of having to skip back to that row to see what to do.

My favorite pattern is something I adapted from the Lion Brand Jiffy Scarf. I always use garter stitch instead of the rib. And I usually use whatever size needles I want. This time I'm using size 10 1/2 instead of 10. Just subtract ten stitches. But you can use size 10 if you want. I favor the russian join for color changes, and theres a video for it on this site. It looks harder than it really is, and its really neat with no ends poking out. You can also knit the matching hat if you want, but I've never done it.

What kind of scarf are you looking to make? A lacy one? A warm one? What kind of yarn do you have? What size of needles are you using?

I have found that scarves often look better if I knit them on a larger sized needle - they drape better if they aren't so stiff.

I found a very simple lacy pattern that you might have luck with:cast on an even number of stitches.Row 1: knit acrossRow 2: Knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over repeat between *s until last stitch, knit 1.Repeat row 2 until you have a scarf about the length you want it to be. Knit one row before you cast off.

This scarf is very holey, so won't do a lot of good for warmth, but I think it's pretty.